KGW
News Channel 8 KGW is an NBC affiliate television station serving the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. The stations broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 8, from its transmitter in Portland. It also produces segments and serves as the Portland bureau for Northwest Cable News (NWCN), which is also owned by KGW's corporate parent, Belo Corp. Along with NBC's lineup, the station also airs some local programming, including telecasts of a select amount of Portland Trail Blazers games. The station is the current leader investigating the parahuman phenomenon that has developed in Portland. History The station was an extension of radio station KGW (620 AM). The Oregonian newspaper created KGW-AM by purchasing an existing transmitter from the Shipowners Radio Service. The U.S. Department of Commerce licensed the station, and it began broadcasting on March 21, 1922. The KGW-TV tower was a prominent victim of the Northwest's historic, violent Columbus Day Storm on Friday, October 12, 1962. KGW was back on the air Tuesday night, October 16, using a temporary tower, plus an antenna on loan from KTNT-TV (now KSTW) of Tacoma, Washington. A new antenna and tower were placed into service on January 28, 1963. In 1964 KGW became the first station in Portland to broadcast in color. KGW-TV's original evening-news team remained intact for more than seven years - a rarity in the broadcast industry, Anchors Richard Ross and Ivan Smith, commentator Tom McCall, sportscaster Doug LaMear and meteorologist Jack Capell were the faces of KGW's "News Beat" from sign-on in December 1956 until early 1964, when McCall left the air to run for Oregon Secretary of State. McCall won election that fall, and was elected Governor of Oregon two years later. Ross anchored KGW's nightly news "Northwest Tonight" until 1975, and Lamear and Capell remained on Channel 8 for at least another two decades after Ross' departure for rival KATU. In 1992, the Bulitt family sold KING Broadcasting (which also included KING-TV in Seattle, KREM-TV in Spokane, Washington, KTVB-TV in Boise, Idaho and KHNL-TV in Honolulu, Hawaii) to the Providence Journal Corporation. Belo Corp purchased "ProJo" in 1997, gaining control of all the former KING Broadcasting stations. KGW aired a Portland Trail Blazers game in high-definition (HD) on October 24, 2007. On January 21, 2008 the station became the first in the Portland metropolitan market to broadcast newscasts in HD. Along with a newky-renovated studio, the station was rebranded from "Northwest NewsChannel 8" to "KGW NewsChannel 8", updated its logos/graphics, and debuted version 3 of 615 Music's "The Tower" music package. In November, 2008, KGW retrofitted its news helicopter with a HD camera. The station developed a high-definition news studio in Downtown Portland historic Pioneer Courthouse Square in a space preciously occupied by Powell's Books. On march 17, 2009 starting with the 4:30 am Sunrise broadcast, anchors Brenda Braxton, Russ Lewis and Drew Carney officially welcomed the debut of KGW's "Studio on the Square." KGW's morning, noon and 7pm newscasts originate from the new location. As of January 2013, they are the one station actively investigating the vigilante heroes operating in the Portland metropolitan area. Current News Team Mike Benzer Natalie Brand Amanda Burden Scott Burton Katherine Cook Sophie Soong Joe Vithayathil